Busworld Europe, the world’s premier exhibition for the bus and coach industry, roared back to life in its 26th edition, held from October 7th to October 12th, 2023. After a four-year hiatus, the event returned to Brussels, Belgium, drawing a record-breaking crowd.
This year’s Busworld Europe proved to be a monumental success, covering an impressive 75,000 square meters of exhibition space with 7.8 kilometers of aisles. Over the course of the event, it welcomed a staggering 40,120 visitors from 111 countries, reaffirming its status as a global industry highlight. The event also hosted nearly 350 members of the press representing 44 countries, underlining its significance in the world of transportation.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this edition was the impressive lineup of exhibitors. The exhibition featured 75 bus and coach manufacturers, a significant increase from the 66 presented in the 2019 edition. In total, 526 exhibitors from 38 countries showcased their innovations, with a remarkable 182 being newcomers. The top participating countries included Turkey with 96 companies, Germany with 79 companies, and China with 61 companies.
Inside the exhibition halls, a total of 222 vehicles were on display, showcasing the latest advancements in bus and coach technology. Additionally, 29 vehicles were positioned outside for demonstrations, offering visitors a hands-on experience with the latest models and features.
One of the notable changes in this year’s Busworld Europe was the new day schedule, running from Saturday to Thursday instead of the previous Friday to Wednesday arrangement. This shift was met with positive feedback from both exhibitors and attendees, contributing to the overall success of the event.
Busworld Europe 2023 marked a triumphant return to the global stage, setting new records in terms of size, attendance, and exhibitors. It reaffirms the exhibition’s reputation as the go-to event for the bus and coach industry, and it once again delivered a platform for innovation, collaboration, and growth.
Awards & Innovations, an overview
20th Busworld Vehicle Awards recognize excellence in Safety, Ecology, Comfort, and Design
The 20th edition of the prestigious Busworld Vehicle Awards has recognized outstanding achievements in the bus and coach industry, with a keen focus on safety, ecology, comfort, and design. The Busworld Awards ceremony, held on Friday 6 October, unveiled the winners and runners-up in each category.
BUS CATEGORY:
Overall winner that wins the Grand Award Bus: Mercedes-Benz eCitaro
Runners-up (alphabetical order): Anadolu Isuzu Citivolt and Ebusco 3.0
Label of Excellence DESIGN: VDL Bus & Coach Citea New Generation
Label of Excellence COMFORT: Mercedes-Benz eCitaro
Label of Excellence ECOLOGY: Ebusco 3.0
Label of Excellence SAFETY: Anadolu Isuzu CitivoltCOACH CATEGORY:
Overall winner that wins the Grand Award Coach: Setra S 516 HDH
Runners-up (alphabetical order): MAN Truck & Bus – Neoplan Tourliner L and Van Hool T16 Astron
Label of Excellence DESIGN: Yutong T15 E
Label of Excellence COMFORT: Setra S 516 HDH and Van Hool T16 Astron (ex aequo)
Label of Excellence ECOLOGY: Yutong T15 E
Label of Excellence SAFETY: Setra S 516 HDH
Digital Awards, the first edition
For the first time, Busworld was organizing and awarding Digital Awards on Wednesday, October 11th within the Digital Mobility Solutions Conference, that also was a first at Busworld. Today, the world of buses and coaches cannot exist without all the digital solutions that contribute to be as safe, efficient and operational as possible.
Marc Vanhoutte, chairman of the Busworld Awards explains: “It was an absolutely necessary add-on to the existing Vehicle Awards and we received a lot of positive feedback on it. The signal was clear that Busworld has its eyes on the digital bus and coach transformation”.
Co-Chairman Thorsten Wagner, editor-in-chief of the German magazine ‘Bus Blickpunkt’ adds: “Digital is the future of bus and coach! It is absolutely fascinating what happens on the market and we loved to define the winners together with all the different expert jury members.”
The Digital Awards are divided into four different categories:
‘Digital On-Board Comfort’ comprises everything from new entertainment systems to Human Machine Interface (HMI) Solutions, that makes the voyage experience for passengers as well as drivers more enjoyable and comfortable.
The winner was MAN Truck & Bus and their new Digital Cockpit with SmartSelect. The new Digital Cockpit from MAN is a clear step into the HMI-future. With its innovative ‘SmartSelect’ operation and the full integration of the new electric platform and the latest ADAS systems it helps the driver to concentrate on his/her job without irrelevant distraction.
Other nominees were: Actia for ‘ACTiVi solution’ and Navaho Technologies for their ‘Navaho Transport Systems’.
‘Digital Operational Excellence’ is very important to manage one’s fleet in a way that combines efficiency and sustainability with telematics and other systems, that cannot be omitted today by any means.
The winner was Iveco Bus with ‘IVECO ON Heavy Buses Digital Services’. The IVECO ON Digital Services for Heavy Buses meets the needs of most PTAs and PTOs in terms of proactive maintenance and downtime reduction with specialized KPIs and trends available on online reports, as well as remote diagnosis and programming. The protection against cyberattacks is another focus of the system. Multi-brand data management with the ‘agnostic’ telematics system is possible as well as the integration of third party apps, which was the biggest reason to vote for this all-encompassing telematics system.
Other nominees were: TOTT UP for ‘GPS Training Partner’ and ZF Group for SCALAR.
‘Digitally Enhanced Driving’ is all about partially and fully autonomous vehicles and all the sub technologies and tools it requires to be able to perform.
The winner was Karsan with the autonomous e-ATAK. The Turkish OEM developed and produced the world’s first SAE-level 4 serial production autonomous bus. Together with the renowned partner ADASTEC, a software company, Karsan developed and implemented the software of the autonomous vehicle and the lidar and sensors applied on it together. The fully homologated midibus is already in operation since 2021 in the US and since 2022 in the EU (Norway), what makes it prizeworthy in a very tangible way. It could be test driven on the premises of Busworld Europe.
Other nominees were: Anadolu Isuzu for their ‘V2X’-System and Daimler Buses for ‘Active Drive Assist 2’.
Last, but not least, the category ‘E-Mobility Management’ has been incorporated in the awards. Modern e-mobility is no longer about vehicles alone, but about whole systems to operate and charge a fleet of buses in a way that saves time and money.
The winner was ChargePoint/TWAICE for their ‘Battery Health Package’. ChargePoint and TWAICE as leaders in their fields of expertise teamed up to combine their unique strengths and bring a world’s first battery analytics solution that is seamlessly integrated in fleet management software to the market, independent from single OEM’s. TWAICE brought their expertise in battery analytics, building on top of ChargePoints Data Hub, and jointly integrating it into the ChargePoint system for maximum customer value. The all-encompassing and OEM-agnostic approach to an absolute focus topic in electromobility and battery safety convinced the jury to the full.
Other nominees were: MAN Truck & Bus for their ‘eManager’ software and Rampini for the hydrogen system ‘Hy4Drive’.
Innovations 2023, a new concept
Busworld Europe 2023 witnessed an exciting showcase of innovation, with companies competing for the prestigious title of “Busworld Europe 2023 Innovation.” The event saw a two-step process that engaged both the Busworld Awards jury and the visitors, culminating in the recognition of ten outstanding innovations.
First, the Busworld Awards jury carefully defined a shortlist from the pool of participants, recognizing the most promising and groundbreaking innovations in the field. This initial selection process ensured that only the most noteworthy innovations advanced to the next round.
The second phase of innovation recognition involved the enthusiastic participation of the event’s visitors. They had the opportunity to cast their votes of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in the respective participant booths. This interactive approach not only engaged attendees but also allowed for a broader perspective on what innovations truly resonated with the industry’s stakeholders.
Following this rigorous process, the following companies were celebrated as the top innovators and awarded the esteemed title of “Busworld Europe 2023 Innovation”:
3 in 1 DRL/DI/POS combination light by Superlee Corporation
Athenia ENVI Heat Pump with R744 by Thermo King
CO2 Heat Pump by Konvekta
EcoBusRapidDesign by Ctrine Engineering
Eleather by Generation Phoenix
I6s Hydrogen Efficient by Irizar
JTSolar Glass by Jaakko Tuote Oy
Reflexcontrol by Saint Gobain
ServoE by Bosch
Twiliner Coach Seat by Twiliner
These innovative solutions represent the cutting edge of the bus and coach industry, offering new and exciting possibilities for the future of transportation.
Conferences
A separate press release will be sent later about the content of the different conferences that took place during Busworld Europe with all the necessary links.
Busworld Europe 2025
In closing, we are thrilled to announce that Busworld Europe 2025 will be hosted at Brussels Expo from October 4th to October 9th. Sales for existing exhibitors will commence in spring 2024, with invitations extended to ensure their participation. New exhibitors will have the opportunity to secure their spot from May 2024. Stay tuned for more updates on this exceptional event that promises to shape the future of the bus and coach industry. We can’t wait to see you in Brussels for Busworld Europe 2025!
Mieke Glorieux, Managing Director of Busworld Europe concludes: “We want to thank all exhibitors, visitors and speakers for their loyal participation. We are eternally grateful for the confirmation of your trust and enthusiasm after 4 years. And most importantly: ‘We’ll be back in two years this time!”.